


Rain or Shine

by letme_follow



Category: The Heroes of Olympus - Rick Riordan
Genre: Cute, Falling In Love, M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-11-17
Updated: 2019-11-17
Packaged: 2021-02-07 15:55:38
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,394
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/21460633
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/letme_follow/pseuds/letme_follow
Summary: After spending three days in the infirmary with Will, Nico has trouble sleeping once he's allowed to finally leave.
Relationships: Nico di Angelo/Will Solace
Comments: 4
Kudos: 90





	Rain or Shine

Nico’s three days in the infirmary were hell. Will Solace had demanded that he rest, despite his complaints. There was no debating with the son of Apollo. It seemed that Will could withstand his temper quite easily. Nico had obliged, but it wasn’t like he had a choice in the first place. 

Fortunately, Will was right in pushing him to take it easy. Once Nico had laid his head down that afternoon, he had not awakened until the very next morning. Then, Will had put his foot down at the mere notion of skipping breakfast. He would walk to the pavilion each morning to grab food for both of them, and they would sit and eat together as the sun broke over the horizon. 

The other children of Apollo would soon arrive afterwards; there were still dozens of injured and bedridden campers from the battle. Nico would watch them all work in harmony, paying particular attention to Will. The way his hands worked so delicately and quick, while his mind stayed calm in the face of bloody wounds and setting broken bones, was mesmerizing. Nico had eventually taken to helping them with the patients. Although he felt that he was doing very little, Will had never pushed him away. In fact, he had actually encouraged him.

That became the problem. 

Nico had never met such a kind-hearted, stubborn and determined person - until Will Solace walked into his life. He made his stomach feel like it was full of skeletal butterflies. When they had shared those mornings, Nico had been happy. Will had not allowed Nico to put him at a distance, despite everyone else being well at arm’s length. Even when some of the Apollo children had shied away from him, Will had vowed for him. He had treated him like a normal guy, not a son of Hades.

All this had left Nico with an untamed hurricane of emotions swirling around his heart. He sat on the edge of his hospital bed, staring at his shoes in thought. Who would want someone like him in a room full of injured and sick people? He had always assumed that he was an outcast. He had experienced hate and grief and sorrow, yet Will Solace somehow saw some good in him. How? 

He couldn’t even begin to describe how he felt. He was confused and scared and… happy? But it only seemed to blossom around Will. When the other boy was gone, Nico found himself wondering when he would be back. He was excited to see him every day. Will always smiled at him when they had been apart for some time. Nico could not remember another person in his life that genuinely enjoyed seeing him so often. 

Nico sighed and put his head in his hands. He couldn’t believe that only three days had passed since the battle; it felt like so much longer. Everything was finally returning to how it used to be. His black hair made a dark curtain around his face. A strange fear set in his stomach. He had not lived normally since Bianca’s death, and it worried him. He wondered if his newfound friends would begin to drift away from him as they slowly settled back into their usual routines. 

“Hey, are you okay?” 

Nico jerked upright: Will was standing only feet away with two trays of biscuits and scrambled eggs balanced in his hands. 

“How did you come in so quietly?” he hissed. He hated being snuck up on. 

Will simply shrugged as he handed him a tray piled with food. “You startle too easily.”

Nico watched as Will pulled a plastic chair beside the bed. He sat down with his tray on his lap. Nico tried to pay attention to the eggs instead. His guts felt like they were twisted in knots. 

“Am I free to go after this?” Nico asked. 

Will rolled his eyes. “You’re not shackled here; you could have left days ago.” 

Nico scoffed as he stabbed his biscuit with his plastic fork. “Yeah, right.” 

“Of course, I would have dragged your butt back here.” 

He took a bite of his biscuit, precariously sitting at the end of the tines. Nico pointed it at Will. “You couldn’t take me down, even if you tried.” 

“Ha! You’re lucky I didn’t wipe the floor with you three days ago.” Will teased, a hint of playfulness in his eyes. 

They laughed for a moment. The infirmary was bustling with energy, but they were only conscious of each other. Smiling didn’t feel as foreign to Nico now. Will had made sure of that. 

After they finished breakfast, Will set his tray aside. There was a hint of worry on his face. “Hey, Nico,” he began, sitting forward in his chair. “You’re still staying, right? Like, you’re not think of leaving again?” 

Nico could not make himself look away from those intent cerulean blue eyes. His heart hammered in his chest. Had Will really been worried about that? “Y-Yeah, of course.” he stammered. “I haven’t changed my mind.” 

Will relaxed into his usual easy-going demeanor. “Good.” he stood and paused. “You can go. Just promise me no more Underworld-ly stuff, okay?” 

Nico nodded his head, so flustered that he could not bring himself to speak. Will seemed satisfied and left to attend to his duties. Nico gradually made his way out of the infirmary. The sunlight seemed too bright once he stepped outside. He hesitated in the doorframe and glanced back at the bed he had stayed in. 

Although he had been eager to leave the hospital, he felt strangely empty.

\--

That night, Nico couldn’t sleep. The cabin was barren and lonely after spending so much time with Will and his siblings. 

Everyone he had encountered through Camp Jupiter and since his hospital stay were friendly and genuine. He had never felt so accepted in his entire life. But, in the back of his mind, where his darkest thoughts still dwelled, Nico struggled to believe that any of it would last. He had never managed to hold onto any sort of happiness for long. In fact, it seemed like life was constantly robbing him of what little joy he could find. 

He sat upright in bed and rubbed his fists against his eyes. The silence was unbearable. He pushed the blankets aside, slipped on his jacket, and walked out into the night. A full moon lit the sky with its iridescent silver light, surrounded by a spread of stars that twinkled in the blackness. The croak of distant bullfrogs accompanied the sound of a dozen crickets singing in harmony, hushed when Nico would tread too close. Shadowy outlines of the other cabins lined the way up the hill. The flickering firelight of the torches along the path lit his way. 

Despite his jacket, the air felt chilly. He shivered and crossed his arms when gooseflesh started spreading across his skin. Although Nico’s thoughts were chaotic, he had a destination in mind. When he finally reached it, he jiggled the handle, relieved to find it unlocked, and pushed the door open. 

Only a few campers remained in the infirmary - all fast asleep in their cots. Nico exhaled a nervous breath that he had been holding and quietly closed the door. He snuck over to a bed on the far wall, resting right underneath a window. Twenty-four hours ago, it had been his bed. He collapsed into it with a sigh of relief. He supposed that his tiredness was causing him to hallucinate; the scent of eucalyptus and rosemary that often clung to Will was in the pillows. It had always seemed like such a calming smell. 

Exhaustion finally weighed down his limbs and clouded his brain. He dreamt that he was back in the chapel of bones with his father, Hades. The god was gazing at him, his eyes gentle with a hint of a smile on his face. His father squeezed his shoulder reassuringly. Nico felt an odd sense of calm wash away his troubled thoughts. 

“Nico?” 

His eyelids snapped open. Nico squinted against the sudden onslaught of sunlight burning his corneas. It took him a moment to realize where he was; lying curled up in a cot in the infirmary with Will Solace leaning over him curiously. 

Will’s eyebrow was raised in question. “Are you okay?” 

Nico groaned and lifted himself up. He swung his legs over the bed and tried to gain his bearings. “Yea, yea, m’fine.” He mumbled. 

“I sent you home yesterday.” Will said, unconvinced. 

He yawned. “I couldn’t sleep.”

“Why?” 

Nico clutched the edge of the mattress. 

He remembered how happy he had been when he was with Will. The moments that they shared were lighthearted and joyful. They had eaten every meal with each other, cracking jokes over their breakfast and exchanging banter until they broke out in fits of laughter. They had talked for hours into the night; about nothing or everything or all their wayward thoughts. They had worked together to help the rest of the campers stuck in the infirmary get back on their feet. 

In that moment, with nothing to lose but a friend, Nico decided that he was tired of lying. His confession to Percy had been the end of that, and it had been easy. Incredibly nerve-wracking, but easier than he had ever expected it to be. He had faced monsters, survived Tartarus, journeyed across the world – he could manage telling the truth for once. 

The scent that clung to Will was soothing, and he breathed it in deeply and sighed. “I couldn’t sleep because I was thinking about you.” he confessed. 

The only sound was the stir of campers going through their morning routines and the Apollo kids bustling through the hospital. Nico couldn’t bring his eyes up to meet Will’s. He wasn’t sure if he really wanted to see his expression. Was he disgusted? Blood was rushing in his ears as his heart pounded against his ribcage. He was bouncing his right leg anxiously and wringing his hands together in his lap. 

Finally, he heard the shift of Will’s clothing as he sat next to Nico on the bed. “You could have woken me up.” his voice was soft, sincere. Their shoulders were brushing against each other. He slid his hand over Nico’s, who looked up at him with wide eyes. 

“I-I knew you would be here in the morning.” Nico explained, blushing furiously. 

A slight smile tugged at the corner of Will’s lips. “Well, I’m here, and you look terrible.” 

Nico laughed. It felt like a weight was lifting off of his chest. “Gee, thanks.” 

Will rolled his eyes, that wonderful, somewhat shy smile never quite leaving his face. “I’ll sleep in your cabin.” Will stated matter-of-factly.

“What?” Nico nearly choked. “Isn’t that, like, against a rule or something?” he stammered, definitely getting warmer by the second. 

“I’m a doctor.” Will reasoned. He said it with such confidence and seriousness that Nico couldn’t help but snicker. 

He grasped Nico’s hand and stood, pulling him to his feet. He noticed that some of the others were peeking over at them, but Will seemed determined to keep holding his hand as he dragged him towards the door. 

“Uh, w-where are we going?” Nico asked, stumbling over his own feet to keep pace with Will. 

\--

They were outside in the daylight, walking towards the cabins. The air felt too humid and sticky; silver clouds were looming in the sky, slowly stealing away the sun’s rays as they gathered above. Will steered him toward the Hades cabin. Once they were inside, Nico faltered in the doorway. The son of Apollo turned when he felt Nico’s hand slip away from his own. 

“Why did you hold my hand?” Nico blurted, staring at his shoes. 

Will frowned. “Is it embarrassing?” 

“N-No!” he faltered, then paused. 

He was struggling to discern all the budding emotions inside of him. He felt nauseous - yet overjoyed that he had actually managed to do something as normal and simple as holding another boy’s hand. A few months ago, he would have never had the self-esteem or bravery to express such a gesture of sentiment, especially in front of others. And Will had freely initiated the entire encounter, which meant that their feelings were mutual. 

The only question that remained: is _he_ embarrassed to be seen with Will Solace? 

Swallowing the lump in his throat, Nico let out a shaky breath. The answer was simple. “No, it’s not embarrassing.” he amended, his tone steady despite his frayed nerves. “It was actually kind of…nice.” 

When he finally gathered the courage to look back up, Will was beaming, and that was all it took to ease Nico’s mind. 

Will threw open the shades in the cabin, allowing the gray, stormy light to shine inside. It was already beginning to rain. Will began to strip a blanket off of one of the bunks. 

“What are you doing?” Nico asked.

He watched Will spread the comforter out on the floor, right next to Nico’s bed, and toss a pillow on top. “I’m going to lay closer to you.” his cheeks reddened. “You know, for maximum comfort and sleep.” Will plopped onto the floor and Nico simply stared at him. “Unless you want me to get in the bed with you.” 

Nico thought it was impossible for his face to get any hotter – he probably looked like a cherry tomato. He hoped that Will was joking. “I don’t think I’m ready for that yet.” he laughed nervously and climbed in bed. 

They settled into their blankets and Nico closed his eyes. Will was quiet below him, but he could hear the subtle sound of him breathing evenly. Nico wondered if his siblings knew where he had gone. He guessed that several of the campers had probably seen them together, holding hands. He had to suppress his giddiness just thinking about it. Nico’s heart felt as light as air. 

“Hey, Nico.” Will’s voice was delicate, barely above a whisper. 

Nico turned onto his side. “Yea?” he murmured.

“I liked it, too.”

Raindrops were falling onto the roof of the cabin, creating a soothing litany that made his brain feel fuzzy with sleep. His lips were uplifted in the slightest hint of a smile as he slipped into unconsciousness.

They slept peacefully.


End file.
